Through the Lens

19

It had been a close call, but after a breakfast full of useless calories that tasted scrumptious, I headed home. Doing homework, filling Madison in about my adventures excluding certain parts of Brad's and my conversation, I waited for my sister to get home. She and I had much to discuss.

It wasn't until after dinner that Jenna decided to grace her family with her presence. I only knew because I heard Dad murmur something to her before the thud of her door said she was hiding in there.

Stepping out of my room, I bumped into my father. "Jess, baby. I hardly see you anymore."

Isn't that what I'd recently said to Madison? "I've been busy. How is the attic cleaning coming?" I'd meant to ask him about it. But I knew enough not to do it in front of Mom.

"Slowly," he replied. "How's the camera working out?"

Brightening, I hadn't yet shown him the pictures I'd taken. I walked in my room leaving the door open so he would follow me inside. Dad was good with boundaries. He usually left us our space and didn't enter without permission. I couldn't say the same for my mother.

Pulling out the envelope, I handed the pictures Ethan had developed for me into his hands.

Slowly, he looked at each one of them. "These are really good," he said. He held up one of the pictures of the butterflies from the museum. "You have a really good eye for catching great pictures. It almost looks like they could fly right off the page."

"Thanks," I said, feeling the heat from a blush creep across my face.

"These are really good, too," he said, showing me a picture of myself. "Who took these?"

"Ethan," I said. "He developed them, too."

He nodded. "He's good, really good." It's hard to judge a picture of yourself, so I said nothing. "Are you two getting close?" he asked, hesitantly.

"I told you before, he has a girlfriend."

He cupped my cheek and looked at me like I was still his little girl. "I know. But you are a beautiful girl, and I couldn't blame him if he was blinded by it."

Blushing again, he kissed my cheek before handing me back the pictures and silently leaving the room. The little girl in me wanted to cry, thinking how much I would miss my Dad when I went to college. And the other half of me cried, thinking about all that Ethan had lost when his father died and how he didn't have the love that I had at home. His own home sat empty.

Wiping at tears, I headed out of the room. I did knock, but then I barreled inside Jenna's room. "Jennifer Kelly SHELBY, what were you up to this weekend?"

Lucky for her, she didn't look contrite. "Look, let me explain."

"Are you and Billy having sex?" I asked. My voice was low, but my meaning was harsh.

She paled. "No, of course not," she said.

"Then what the hell?"

"You know Mom and Dad and their curfew. I just wanted to hang out late. I swear Billy took me to Kara's later. We didn't go all the way okay."

I stared at her and her confession. I wasn't sure if I totally believed her. I didn't think she had sex, but there was more to it. "Is he putting pressure on you?" I may not know a lot about relationships, but I did know that sex was a big deal. And I really did believe that the right guy would wait until you were ready.

"It's not like he hasn't tried. What guy wouldn't?" she exclaimed. I didn't like her tone and was about to speak but she cut me off. "Still he respects me and said he'd wait."